Breastfeeding in New York City: The Bloomberg Effect

Starting in September, many hospitals in New York City will participate in an initiative to educate new moms about the benefits of breastfeeding versus formula, and ban giving all new mothers swag bags from formula companies. If women choose not to breastfeed, they will still be given formula, but will receive education on why breastfeeding is the best option. The swag bags can still be given to mothers for medical reasons, or if they request them.

I’m not seeing a problem with this initiative, and I am unsure why women are so upset. I understand that women do not want to feel pressured or guilty if they choose not to breastfeed, but I don’t see the harm in educating women on the benefits and letting them decide which option works best for them. Some women can only breastfeed for a few weeks or a few months, but if they can physically and emotionally do it and feel comfortable doing so, it is the best option, and it is free! It also helps lower the risk of ear infections, pneumonia, and diarrhea in newborns. However, many new moms feel overwhelmed and worried that their baby is not getting enough milk, it sometimes hurts, the baby won’t latch properly, and so on. This causes many women to want to rush right to formula.

If women want to breastfeed they should read a few books on the topic, take classes at their local hospital or La Leche League, receive tips and support from friends and family members, and make sure to schedule the lactation specialist right away, even if the baby latches at the hospital. On the other hand, if someone doesn’t want to breastfeed or cannot breastfeed because of a medical condition (i.e., C-section issues, adoption, medication, etc.), they should not feel that they’re not good mothers or worry that their baby won’t be as smart as breastfed babies. Women should seek as much information as possible and then make an informed decision. At the end of the day, I don’t see any harm in providing education, especially when it involves the health and well-being of a mother and her baby.

Please let us know how you feel about this topic. Do you agree or disagree with what they are doing in NYC, and already implementing in some hospitals around the country? Do you think it will increase the number of women who breastfeed?

Comment Policy

All comments are moderated by The Feronia Project before they are posted. By registering with our site you agree to keep your comments within our posting guidelines. Ultimately all comments are approved at the discretion of the moderators at The Feronia Project. We’ve borrowed the six guiding principles below from Greenpeace because they really got it right (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?)

1. The Feronia Project welcomes all users to join our community and to comment and treats all members of the community equally.

2. We want The Feronia Project to be home to open, transparent conversations in which people connect, discuss, share ideas, and debate the issues. Site your source if you are contradicting a statement made by the author.

3. We are also committed to maintaining a non-toxic atmosphere. We do not allow profanity, hate speech, nor do we allow speech that advocates or supports hatred or unlawful violence. Likewise, threats of violence or threats to anyone or any group's personal safety are not acceptable. We also do not allow false claims or misleading implications that any individual or group perpetuates hate or unlawful violence.

4. In order to preserve a functional and civil conversation, we do not allow trolls, trollish behavior, or stalking. We do not allow speech that is solely intended to provoke other users, to cause disorder or confusion, or to inhibit regular, on-topic conversation. In this area especially, we defer to the flags left by our users in the context of our growing community reputation system.

5. Be respectful of the blog author and community members by staying on topic with your comments.

6. Members of The Feronia Project deserve to be free from spam, and we do not allow posting the same comment multiple times within one thread or on multiple threads. We also flag and delete all comments containing business solicitations or other advertising of personal interests, blogs, or websites.

Comment Policy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply